Author
Topic: Am I going crazy? (Read 2451 times)

After reading both the Book of Vile Darkness and Unearthed Arcana (Both Dungeons and Dragons, for those who don't know) I have gotten interested in characters and NPCs with psychological disorders. I guess this thread'll be for posting different mental things that can make a character interesting.

Phobias:Everyone has heard of things like claustrophobia, the fear of confined spaces or arachnophobia, the fear of spiders. But what if a character had one of these?

Materiophobia: fear of constructsHagiophobia: fear of saints and holy relicsPlanarphobia: fear of outsiders and extraplanar creaturesArcuphobia: fear of bowsHamartophobia: fear of sinning or making a mistakeSpectrophobia: fear of mirrorsTeratophobia: fear of being buried alive

Personality DisordersThese can be as minor as dyslexia or as life-shattering as violent schizophrenia. Try these on for size:

Anti-Social Personality: Can't stand to be around other people for long, especially in large groups.Paranoia: Insistant that they are the subject of a conspiracy or that everyone is out to get them.Multiple Personality Disorder(Schizophrenia): Having more than one distinct personality, even opposing ones within the same person.Hypocondria(sp?): Constantly complaining of a physical illness when none exists. Often used for attention-getting.

There are thousands more. What else can you guys and gals come up with?

There you go and some explanations to go with it. In case you were wondering, the DSM-IV is the clinical book of mental illnesses. It is what shrinks use. It is also fairly useful to browse through when you are looking for mental issues to challange your characters.

Players with disorders such as a phobia are always more interesting than normal people.There are normal people, then there are fun people, with a flaw/disorder of some sort. Playing with everything perfect about your character is like playing a game where the creatures are all herbivorous, or everyone gives things to you freely, or there is world peace, or... well, you get the idea.

Hmm, a paranoid, schizophrenic zemmiphobe... "Th... The great molerat... its AFTER US!...AND WE'LL SLAY IT SHOULD IT EVER REAR ITS UGLY HEAD!Or... or maybe run from it... yes... run!"

Would be even more fun if you great mole rat DID appear in the roleplay ^^